Utes Take Fourth In Day One of NM Invite

Friday, February 6

Taos, N.M.

TBA

University of Utah

New Mexico Invitational (Alpine/CC)

2/6/2004 12:00 AM | Skiing

Feb. 6, 2004

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

RED RIVER, N.M. - The University of Utah ski team managed to ski to fourth in the opening day of the New Mexico Invitational. Utah ended day one with a combine score of 219.0, with contributions coming from both the alpine and nordic teams.

"It was an up and down day for our teams," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "I think the altitude really made a difference."

After day one, the Buffs of Colorado hold down the top spot, while host New Mexico placed second. Denver rounded out the top three in third, followed by the Utes in fourth. Nevada came away with a fifth-place finish.

The women's nordic squad placed all three scores in the top 10, finishing in third with a point total of 71.0 in the 5-km classical event. Utah's Jenny Hansson led the Utes finishing sixth with a two-run time of 18:45.2. Junior Barbro Hatlevik skied to seventh with a time of 19:01.1. Freshman Sandra Gredig was only seconds behind CU's Muriele Huberli to take ninth in 19:12.2. Sophomore Ashley McQueen rallied to 23th.

On the men's side, Utah produced a third-place finish, cumulating a 66.0 point total in the 10-km classical race. Junior Henning Dybendal had another great race as he finished third with a two-run time of 30:39.1. Thus far this season, Dybendal hasn't finished any lower that third in either discipline. Freshman Daniel Sonntag rallied to 11th, while Benjamin Sonntag finished the Utes scoring participation, skiing to a 15th-place finish. Sophomore Tony Bozzio placed 20th.

"It is good to get the first race under our belts," added Sweeney. "The women's team skied great, but I think the men struggled with the altitude. Our performance goes to show that small mistakes can make the biggest difference."

Junior Ben Thornhill led the men's alpine team placing 13th with a time of 2:09.77. Sophomore Andi Wieser skied 24th and freshman Gaspar Perricone finished 29th.

Downhill skier Rowena Hyldahl placed in the top 10 finishing eighth with a two-run time of 2:14.62. Junior April Mancuso tied with Christina Metzger for 24th in 2:17.33. Utah's Lauren Lattimer didn't finish the first run and was unable to score. With the recent injury to Elisha Stephens, Utah has been limited to only three women alpine skiers.

"This wasn't the same team that we saw last week," remarked Head Alpine Coach Aaron Atkins. "We are hoping to regroup and ski to our potential tomorrow."

Tomorrow, Utah will compete in the men's 10-km and women's 5-km nordic freestyle races at the Enchanted Forest Ski Area in Red River, N.M. The women's race begins at 9:00 a.m. (M.S.T), and the men's race starts 10:00 a.m. (M.S.T.). The alpine squad will compete in the slalom races at Taos Ski Valley in Taos, N.M. The alpine teams will begin runs at 9:30 a.m. (M.S.T.)

"We are hoping to really attack tomorrow," said Sweeney. "We are all excited to race tomorrow and I'm expecting to see improvement on both sides."

New Mexico Invitational Results:

1. New Mexico 291.0 2. Colorado 285.0 3. Denver 275.0 4. Utah 219.0 5. Nevada 202.0 6. Western State 124.0 7. Montana State 117.0 8. Whitman 109.0 9. Alaska Anchorage 99.0 10. Boise State 75.0